With the diversity career fair from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday at Breslin Center, students should make sure they are prepared to leave a lasting impression on potential employers.
More than 160 employers will be looking for students to fill full-time, internship and co-op positions. This is MSU’s largest spring semester event, according to MSU Career Services.
Career fair preparation
Career services coordinator Bill Morgan said it is important for students to take the time to prepare.
“Determine what’s the purpose of me attending this event — what am I hoping to get out of it,” Morgan said.
Typically, for freshmen and sophomores, it is more about the experience of attending than actually landing a job. Employers are really looking for juniors and seniors to fill their summer job spots, he said.
Students should strive to leave an impression by presenting themselves professionally.
“A lot of the recruiters will be dressed in polo shirts and khakis. They will seem pretty informal given that you are (dressed up). A good number of them, 25 percent or more, are Michigan State alumni, so they’re really excited to be here and so they may be wearing some type of MSU garb,” Morgan said. “The environment may seem a little more casual than you should treat it.”
Before heading to Breslin Center, students should take a look at the list of employers and see which they are interested in applying to.
Morgan said students should research companies and have a basic idea of what they do. If there is an online application available, it should be completed before the career fair.
“Employers are looking for ‘passion,’ like someone who walks up, who has learned about their company in specifics and has done the research,” Morgan said.
When employers ask for “your story,” do not recite your resume, but give a quick synopsis of who you are and why you are interested in talking to that employer, Morgan.
Double check the resume
College student resumes are structured differently than a graduate’s, being arranged in a different order. Students want to show their first priority, and their current full-time job, is being a student. The sections should go in this order: contact information, education, work experience and extracurricular activities.
Every student’s resume should look different depending on their future goals. For example, if an education major volunteered in a classroom, they would want to bring that towards the top.
“Sit down with your resume and check over your resume,” Morgan said. “Make sure, at least, on that one page, they’re presenting themselves in a way that is consistent with what they hope to get out of the event.”
References should not be present on a resume because that should be information only for employers interested in hiring that applicant.
“You don’t want your references to be contacted for random companies before they want to interview you because that’s not fair to your references,” Morgan said.
What to bring
The number of resumes that a student should be brought to the career fair depends on the number of employers each student is interested in. Leave the backpacks and coats at the coat check, near the entrance, and only carry around a padfolio with resumes in it. This will be a place to keep track of business cards.
Student IDs will be required to swipe before entering the Breslin Student Events Center to get a name tag with their name and major on it.
Following up
Some representatives are staying in the area after the career fair to conduct interviews the following day. If students speak with companies doing so, they should be prepared to accept and attend an interview.
For employers not hosting on-campus interviews, follow up can be done by email and hand-written note, according to Morgan.
“A career fair is actually an interview, it’s just that it’s really short and fast,” Morgan said.
